Over the weekend, my daughter Kyla, a college student, was working on a research paper she has to turn in to her professor soon. For weeks, she has been compiling research and notes and saving all the information on a USB flash drive which is a data storage device.

But Saturday, she came to me feeling upset because the data files she had saved for her research paper somehow got deleted from the USB drive. After hours of searching online to find solutions to the problem and being unsuccessful, she came to me exasperated.

Kyla said, though she found several suggested fixes to help retrieve her lost data, when she tried those suggestions, they didn’t work. Although she had managed to recover some files, when she opened them, they were either corrupted or weren’t the ones she needed. As a result, Kyla was discouraged and didn’t want to go any further in her search of the remaining unnamed files, since her efforts had produced no fruit thus far.

I understood her frustration but told her, “Try to go through all of the files anyway. It may take some time, but it’s worth a shot, because you just may find what you’re looking for.”

Well, Daily Cup family, yesterday, Kyla came back to me feeling so excited and told me, “I found my deleted files! My notes are all back. You were right. Looking through all the deleted files paid off!”

I was so happy for her!

That experience made me think about the importance of not giving up, even when we feel frustrated and discouraged with the way things are going like Simon Peter did in Luke 5:1-11. In this Bible story, after Jesus used Simon’s boat to teach the crowd on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, Jesus told Simon, a fisherman, to push his boat out into deep waters and let down his net for a big catch. Before doing what Jesus said, Simon complained that he and the other disciples with him had been fishing all night and had caught absolutely nothing—not even a minnow, a small fish. They were tired and discouraged.

Nevertheless, Simon obeyed Jesus’ command and let down his net again. This time, he caught so many fish, the net couldn’t support the weight of them. Simon and his crew were forced to call upon their partners in another boat to assist them, and the fish filled up both boats, nearly sinking them. Now that’s what it means to be overwhelmed by a blessing!

Friend, God wants you to know, if you don’t give up, you will be greatly blessed and overwhelmed by divine favor also. Take God at His word despite feelings of discouragement, and He will bless you abundantly.

But don’t just take my word for it.

2 Corinthians 9:8, which I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration, says, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, when you feel frustrated in your process, trust the God who reigns over the process. Know that He will bless you and give you everything you need if you keep on pressing.

Now, let’s pray.

God, sometimes I feel discouraged by the way things are going. Yet, I believe You will bless me abundantly, because I have put my trust in You and refused to quit. In moments when I feel down, help me place my hope in Your word alone and cling to the expectation that You will fulfill every promise You have made. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.

As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!